- A UK court is set to order the seizure of more than 100 million pounds from former Delta State governor James Ibori
- Ibori, who pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering in 2012, is expected to appeal the confiscation order
- Britain has promised to return to Nigeria any money recovered from Ibori
A court in the United Kingdom (UK) is set to order the seizure of more than 100 million pounds ($129 million) from former Delta State governor James Ibori, who was convicted of fraud and money laundering in the UK.
Ibori, the governor of Delta from 1999 to 2007, was among the governors from the class of 1999 who visited President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock last week.
In 2012, he pleaded guilty to ten counts of fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
After fleeing Nigeria, he was extradited from Dubai to London in 2011.
British authorities charged him with stealing public funds and laundering them through UK banks and properties.
The confiscation proceedings against Ibori are nearing completion after years of legal battles and delays.
According to Reuters, Southwark Crown Court Judge David Tomlinson has made factual findings regarding the amount of money that Ibori benefited from his crimes.
The prosecution and defence presented their arguments on how the confiscation figure should be calculated based on the judge’s findings during a hearing on Thursday.
The judge is expected to issue his order on Friday or shortly thereafter.
The prosecution lawyer, Jonathan Kinnear, told the court that the total amount that should be confiscated from Ibori was 101.5 million pounds, and that if he did not pay, he would face an additional prison term of five to ten years.
Ibori did not attend the hearing because he had returned to Nigeria in 2017 after serving half of his sentence.
According to Reuters, he intends to appeal the confiscation order.
Despite his conviction, Ibori is a powerful figure in Nigerian politics. He is regarded as such in Delta, where he influenced the election of all of his successors except incumbent Governor Sheriff Oborevwori.
He is close to Tinubu, whom he has visited twice since taking office in May.
Britain has promised to return to Nigeria any money recovered from Ibori.
It returned 4.2 million pounds confiscated from Ibori’s ex-wife and sister, who also served time in prison for assisting him in money laundering, in 2021.